Recently, I began doing one nice thing for myself with no conditions every day, carving out a few minutes for myself to do something I enjoy or that makes me feel GOOD! and I tell myself “I truly deserve it!!”.
I have a log, on which I record the Nice Things I did for Myself each day. When the list gets long, I look back on the glimmers I created for myself and have a good laugh because many of the entries read “I bought myself a medium regular coke from McDonald’s”.
I used to not drink carbonated drinks. It is only this summer that I started enjoying soft drinks, especially a regular McDonald’s coke. I know it’s not healthy, but treating myself to a regular coke from McDonald’s brings a moment of joy. Personally, I find McDonald’s regular coca cola more tasty than coke from a can or a bottle. I think it’s less carbonated and sweeter… I think. Sometimes, treating myself to the special meals at McDonald’s makes me happy too because those meals come with a toy or something special like socks!
I must thank McDonald’s for bringing me all the ‘I’m lovin’ it’ moments during the toughest and the darkest time of my life.
Sorry, I went off on a tangent there. Enough about my love for McDonald’s.
What I want to say is that these mini moments of bring a sense of joy and safety amidst challenging situations. They shift mood. Making some time to do something that makes me feel good every day creates a habit of intentionally noticing them. You can cultivate glimmers by writing down that nice thing that brought positive moments every day. This way, you get to be more appreciative of those glimmers.
Glimmers are not monumental experiences. They are moments, everyday moments, that may seem insignificant and that I used to take for granted, are glimmers. Some of my glimmers include getting out of the bed, going for a short walk, looking around Urban Fare, a grocery store (because there was a long period of time when I couldn’t even do this), spending time with friends, laughing with friends, finding a good deal on DoorDash, watching funny videos that my friend took of us and talking to a friend on the phone, looking at cute photos of my friend’s adorable baby nephew, drinking a good cup of coffee, creating a home theatre and watch a movie.
This year has been especially challenging for me. It took me a while, and I needed a lot of help from many people (I am so grateful for them!) before I was able to feel a millisecond of contentment. It has been extremely difficult to live with and get over ongoing negative emotions of fear, agitation, grief, anxiety, blame and guilt. For the longest time, I thought I would live in the darkness. Only darkness. I didn’t think I would see a light at the end of the tunnel. However, as I actively sought positive moments each day along with other “things” I have been doing to find a balance, I started to find a glimmer of light.
Spotting glimmers in my everyday life has brought me a moment of happiness, peace and gratitude in my daily life that had been impacted by intrusive memories, negative changes in thinking and mood as well as changes in physical and emotional reactions. It has had positive effect on my mental health, reducing emotional distress and reminding me of happiness, ultimately shifting my focus to positive experiences.